I rise today to highlight the lack of transparency and fairness in how commercial rates are handled in large State-controlled campuses, particularly our airports. Across the country, commercial rates are supposed to operate on a simple principle: the local authority levies them and the occupier knows exactly what they owe. In complex environments where a single semi-State landlord controls access, however, tenants often have no visibility into how those rates are calculated, allocated and passed on.

There was a recent case in which a tenant of the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, was allegedly overcharged by huge amounts on their rates. I will not comment further as this is part of an ongoing court case, but it is worth mentioning the allegation as it comes as part of a much bigger and consistent pattern. I have heard similar complaints from constituents as a member of the Industrial and Commercial Panel and there are many on the public record, particularly in respect of our airports. This lack of transparency is not a minor administrative detail. It affects the viability of small businesses, the security of workers' jobs and ultimately the prices paid by the public. When tenants cannot see the basis for the charges they receive or independently verify what proportion of council rates they are responsible for, and when they operate in captive environments without bargaining power, the Oireachtas has a duty to ask whether the system is serving the public interest. Otherwise, we risk allowing the management of the DAA and similar institutions, to run their premises like their own private baronies. Therefore, I am calling for a full debate in this House and for the Government to consider legislative options to regulate how commercial rates are apportioned in such settings. More immediately, the Minister for enterprise should be investigating allegations relating to the DAA and similar institutions. Transparency must be the standard, not the exception.